UPDATED: Velvet Antler damaged in fire
The Velvet Antler Restaurant, located between Nevis and Park Rapids on state Highway 34, was damaged in a fire Tuesday night.
According to a press release from the Hubbard County Sheriff's Office:
The fire was reported at 10:06 p.m. via multiple cell phone calls.
The business had closed at about 8:45 p.m. that night and no one was present at the time the fire was reported.
The building sustained major damage to the structure, mainly in the kitchen area of the business.
Nevis Fire Chief Kerry Swenson told the Park Rapids Enterprise that firefighting efforts saved the building from total loss.
The fire is believed to have started in the kitchen area, Swenson said. The kitchen area is between the two adjoined structures.
We got lucky," Swenson told the Enterprise. "There was no wind. For once everything went right."
The Minnesota State Fire Marshall's Office and the Hubbard County Sheriff's Office are investigating the cause of the fire.
Initially responding to the call were the Nevis Fire Department, Hubbard County Sheriff's Office, Minnesota State Patrol, and North Memorial Ambulance Service. The Akeley Eastern Hubbard County Fire Department and the Park Rapids Fire Department were called for mutual aid.
